Letters 01-06-10

How wonderful that the Army is holding a ball to honor soldiers. How disgusting that many of the soldiers can't afford to attend, so donations are being requested for those who can't afford the honor.

In the first place, I have never heard of those being honored required to pay for admission to the occasion. In the second place, and most important, how humiliating to our military to have to go begging because their pay is not sufficient to allow them to afford this honor.

When I first realized that some of our military qualify for food stamps, I was astounded. These people who risk their lives and limbs, must leave their families for long periods to defend this country and our freedom, must suffer the humiliation of receiving food stamps!

Why don't we take some of the money we spend on illegal aliens and raise our military's pay? This would be a lot more practical than getting all teary-eyed and feeling patriotic when we think about their sacrifices. What a warm fuzzy feeling we get when we think about our wonderful military. I hope that makes them feel warm and fuzzy too while they are begging for donations and filing for food stamps.

Until the legislators in Sacramento and Washington, who do us more harm than good, receive pay that qualifies them for food stamps, this country is way out of commission.

Florence Adams

Barstow

Assigning blame

It was a pleasant surprise to learn that President Obama is blaming the Christmas attempt to blow up an arriving airliner over Detroit on al-Qaida rather than George W. Bush. Is it possible that Mr. Obama finally realizes his administration has to take responsibility for events occurring now rather than blaming everything on prior administrations?

Richard Rorex

Apple Valley

Saving our water

The new gray water direct landscape irrigation measures (emergency drought measures) have made it practical and affordable for homeowners to keep the trees around their homes green and growing while creating energy savings as they conserve water. Towns are eligible for many grants in this regard. Multifamily Section 8 and Housing and Urban Development properties are eligible for direct grants. We could soon be tree cities with our own urban forests, cooling the area and reducing particulates. Three trees make a fireplace carbon neutral. Each resident could take a leadership role in the High Desert. The energy savings are not confined to simply the residents, but also to energy-intensive wastewater processing.

We in Oro Grande are trying to organize such a program. Our small population of sewer users (93) could retain at least 25 acre feet per year for local recharge and irrigation, keeping it out of the waste water treatment plant, allowing the waste water to be processed to a higher quality and reducing the need for the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority to grow.

Mrs. Lee Dorgan

Oro Grande

Spare the rod

Love and logic is tailor-made for today's liberal, touchy-feely, litigation-infested society. It's efficient, but not really effective, in the long run. Ask yourself: "Are the young people of today more respectful, industrious, altruistic and non-violent than the youngsters of years ago?" With the demise of common sense and the edification of selfesteem above all else, our societal outcome is pretty much cemented for now and future generations.

"Spare the rod and spoil the child" has worked for thousands of years. The thought of such a "barbaric" program no doubt has liberals reeling, but they need not worry. When the latest fad doesn't work, they can always search for something new; that's what keeps them going. The solution is close at hand, but we'll never see it return.

Dave Irwin

Apple Valley

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